Trot Nixon
Christopher Trotman "Trot" Nixon (born April 11, 1974 in ) is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the New York Mets. He is best known as a member of the Boston Red Sox from – . He was drafted by the Sox in the 1st round of the amateur draft, and was the seventh pick overall. He bats and throws left-handed. High school career Nixon attended New Hanover High School in Wilmington, North Carolina. As a senior, he was named the State Player of the Year in both football and baseball. In football, as a senior, he broke school passing records held by former National Football League quarterbacks Sonny Jurgensen and Roman Gabriel. Nixon was slated to join the N.C. State football team on a scholarship before being drafted by the Boston Red Sox. In baseball, as a senior, he was named Baseball America Magazine’s High School Player of the Year, named the State Player of the Year, and helped lead his team to the State 4A title, and he finished his impressive senior season with a .512 batting average, 12 home runs and a state-record 56 RBI, and pitched 40 innings with a 12-0 record and a 0.40 ERA. Career highlights Trot had a career-best year in when he batted .306 with 24 doubles and 28 home runs. In game 3 of the American League Division Series, Nixon was called from the bench as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the 11th. With the Red Sox facing elimination, Nixon lined a two-run homer over the center field wall for a 3-1 Boston victory. During the Red Sox season, Nixon was unavailable for several months due to a herniated disc and a tight thigh muscle. Upon his return, he generally worked as the starting right fielder throughout the regular and post-season. In the deciding game of the 2004 World Series, Nixon hit a two-out, two-run double off the right field wall at Busch Stadium in St. Louis in the top of the third inning to give Boston a 3-0 lead. Those were the last runs scored by either team in that game as the Red Sox swept the Cardinals for the team's first World Series title in 86 years. For the series, Nixon batted .357 and drove in three runs. He also endeared himself to Sox fans by briefly wearing a mohawk hairstyle, one of the many unconventional and bizarre hairstyles sported by the Red Sox over the course of the 2004 season. Trot Nixon is considered the inspiration for the expression "Boston Dirt Dogs". The signature is that of a "scrapper", a player who hustles and isn't afraid to get dirty to win a game. Loved by Boston's fans, Nixon is known for an extremely volatile temper and steadfast dedication to his teammates. In August 2005, while officially on the disabled list, Nixon remained in uniform and in the dugout with the rest of the team during the game. When teammate Gabe Kapler (who often acted as Nixon's right field replacement) hit a long fly ball off of the Green Monster, the umpires ruled it a double. Nixon leapt off the bench and argued with such passion that Kapler's hit had been a home run (television replays confirmed that the hit had landed above the home run line, and thus should have been ruled a two-run homer) that he was ejected from the game. On October 1, 2006, with two outs in the fifth inning of the final game of the season, manager Terry Francona replaced Nixon in right field with rookie David Murphy. Knowing Nixon might be playing his final game with the Sox, the fans delivered a grateful ovation to Nixon as he ran off the field. Said Nixon, when asked if it was difficult playing what may have been his last game for the Red Sox: Following the 2006 season, Nixon was not offered salary arbitration by the Red Sox as the team pursued and eventually signed free agent J.D. Drew, coupled with the fact that Boston had a fourth outfielder, Wily Mo Peña, on the roster.Boston Red Sox - No arbitration for Nixon - The Boston Globe In January of , Nixon signed a one-year, $3 million dollar contract with the Cleveland Indians. Instead of going with the number 7, which he wore during his entire career in Boston, Nixon chose to wear number 33. The decision was made in part by his son Chase, who chose the number based on the fact that Nixon will turn 33 years of age in April. In February of , he signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the Arizona Diamondbacks and was subsequently sent to their Triple-A affiliate the Tucson Sidewinders. On June 13, 2008, Nixon was acquired by the New York Mets from the Arizona Diamondbacks for cash considerations and a player to be named later. The Mets acquired him to take the place of injured outfielder Moisés Alou. He was added to the Mets roster on June 15, replacing outfielder Chris Aguila who was designated for assignment. The same day he was activated Nixon started in right field against the Texas Rangers going two for three with a double, two walks a stolen base and one run scored. Stats Career statistics as of June 22, 2008 YEAR TEAM LG G''' '''AB R''' '''H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 1996 BOS AL 2 4 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 .500 .500 .750 1.250 1998 BOS AL 13 27 3 7 1 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 .259 .286 .296 .582 1999 BOS AL 124 381 67 103 22 5 15 52 53 75 3 1 .270 .357 .472 .829 2000 BOS AL 123 427 66 118 27 8 12 60 63 85 8 1 .276 .368 .461 .829 2001 BOS AL 148 535 100 150 31 4 27 88 79 113 7 4 .280 .376 .505 .881 2002 BOS AL 152 532 81 136 36 3 24 94 65 109 4 2 .256 .338 .470 .808 2003 BOS AL 134 441 81 135 24 6 28 87 65 96 4 2 .306 .396 .578 .974 2004 BOS AL 48 149 24 47 9 1 6 23 15 24 0 0 .315 .377 .510 .887 2005 BOS AL 124 408 64 112 29 1 13 67 53 59 2 1 .275 .357 .446 .803 2006 BOS AL 114 381 59 102 24 0 8 52 60 56 0 2 .268 .373 .394 .767 2007 CLE AL 99 307 30 77 17 0 3 31 44 59 0 0 .251 .342 .336 .677 2008 NYM NL 6 21 2 4 1 0 1 1 5 4 1 0 .190 .346 .381 .727 TOTALS 1087 3613 579 993 222 28 137 555 503 684 30 13 .275 .364 .466 .830 Family Nixon has a wife, Kathryn, and two sons: Chase (born September 11, 2001) and Luke (born October 1, 2004). Nixon was flying back to Boston to be at Chase's birth when all air traffic was halted due to the September 11 attacks. His father lives in Wilmington, North Carolina, and his grandmother and cousins in Hertford, North Carolina. See also * Top 500 home run hitters of all time * Major League Baseball hitters with three home runs in one game References External links *Trot Nixon Video News Clips *[http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/N/Nixon_Trot.stm Page at Baseball Library] *Connection Magazine Category:1974 births Category:Living people Category:People from Durham, North Carolina Category:Major league players from North Carolina Category:Major league right fielders Category:Pawtucket Red Sox players Category:Boston Red Sox players Category:2004 Boston Red Sox World Series Championship Team Category:Cleveland Indians players Category:Tucson Sidewinders players Category:New York Mets players Category:Players